


Deep River, Shallow Steps

by JustALargeTownGirl



Category: Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks (TV 1990) RPF
Genre: Cutesy, F/M, Fluff, Little bit of hurt, No Dark!Cooper, No Smut, Older Characters, Older Man/Younger Woman, POV Third Person Limited, Please give me a break, Romantic Fluff, Twin Peaks References, do not support highschool girls with older men, hope you enjoy it, its the first fic in a long time, little angst, little bit of sensuality, no bob
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28626438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustALargeTownGirl/pseuds/JustALargeTownGirl
Summary: I'm not good at summaries but basically Audrey has just graduated FBI school at Quantico, Virginia and she is once again reunited with Cooper and they feel that old flame burning again. It's pretty good, I recommend it lmao. No young Audrey, but there are refrences to the Twin Peaks timeline. I, by no means, condone older men with high school girls, please dont get me wrong.
Relationships: Dale Cooper & Audrey Horne, Dale Cooper/Audrey Horne
Kudos: 1





	1. Celebratory Pie?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Everyone! It feels weird to be back, especially since I abandoned everything I had worked on (sorry). I seriously hope you enjoy this. This fic was mostly written for me and no one else but you never know in this world, am I right?

**Twin Peaks ^v^ skaeP niwT**

Agent Cooper had waited outside for this moment. Not surprisingly it had rained in the middle of the ceremony and he had seen her laugh and cover her head with her hand as they all headed inside. She didn’t know he was here, a special surprise sent by her father who had other business to attend to. How Cooper thought that anything in the world was more important than being here with Audrey on her special day was beyond him, but Cooper was here nonetheless. He approached her talking alongside her friends and she turned to him beaming. “Audrey.”

“Agent Cooper? Oh my goodness, it’s so great to see you! I can’t believe you came!” She exclaimed. Her smile fueled his and they hugged, Cooper holding Audrey closer than he had in the six years he had known her. 

“Well, it’s not everyday you see a friend become an FBI agent. You should be proud of yourself, Audrey, or should I call you Agent Horne?” He laughed.

She smiled back at him with that old flirtatious face he had grown so fond of. Man, he missed her. “I technically  _ am  _ Agent Horne, but you’ll always call me Audrey,  _ Dale _ .”

He laughed as they walked to the exit of the large conference room. He shot her a smirk and watched as her eyes glanced at his mouth. “Only my mother calls me Dale, Audrey. But I guess I can make an exception. How about I treat you to a meal? It’s almost dinner time and I know a great place.”

“Let me guess, they have celebratory pie?”

They both shared a chuckle and he pushed her slightly, his hands in his pockets and his hips connected with hers. “How did you know?” He watched her glance over at the group she was in, the wheels turning in her mind.  _ She might already have plans, Cooper _ , he reminded himself. “If you want you can celebrate with your friends instead? We can always schedule our celebration for another day.”

She pushed him flirtatiously with her hand on his new suit and he felt his arm tighten beneath her touch. “Why when I can celebrate with you?” she grinned. “Let me say good-bye to my friends and I’ll be right with you, ok?”

“Alright, I’ll meet you by the car” He said with a thumbs up. He thought about her as he left the building and crossed the parking lot. Audrey Horne, the girl who kept on surprising him. Why is it that they always had something between them? That inexplicable attraction and bond preset by time and fate. He usually wasn’t one to believe in fate, but after his experience in Twin Peaks he is willing to believe almost everything. Cooper frowns as he opens the car door and steps inside. He keeps on having dreams, mostly nightmares. He dreams of the red room and the dancing man. His vision of Laura Palmer is sometimes replaced by Audrey and her experience at One-Eyed Jack’s. He shakes his head trying to eliminate the memories from his mind and starts the car. Driving around the lot he arrives just in time to pick her up and they head off to the restaurant, a distinctly Twin Peaks tune playing on the radio. 

**Twin Peaks ^v^ skaeP niwT**


	2. Bossy Audrey

**Twin Peaks ^v^ skaeP niwT**

“You know, this is really a delicious pie.” Audrey says with a smile. Her eyes meet his and she fakes a look of shock. “Oh God, I’m becoming you!”

Cooper shakes his head and laughs. “They say it’s a rite of passage for every young agent.” He glances at her fondly as he holds his pie-filled fork in his hand. “Honestly, Audrey, I am so impressed. I knew you were capable and had the instinct but I am just so proud you graduated top of your class. It’s incredible.” 

She beams at him and takes a bite of her pie, the caramel and apple exploding in her mouth like fireworks of deliciousness. “Well, after all that time in Quantico there was one thing that kept me going.”

“What?” Cooper asked, a puzzled look on his face.

“You, obviously.” She replied with a smile. Cooper gulped, his pie hurting his back from swallowing the piece whole. 

“May I ask why?” 

“Well, ever since I saw that female agents were a thing I wanted to become one. Not only because you inspired me but because I couldn’t get the picture of me bossing you around out of my head.” Audrey laughed at the wide-eyed shocked look on Cooper’s face. 

After a moment Cooper finally laughed alongside Audrey but a different image had crossed his mind. He imagined Audrey bossing him around in a more… domestic setting. Her standing over him, telling him exactly how she wanted things done and how she expected things to be. He cleared his throat after a hearty laugh and flagged down the waiter for the bill. As they both stood up he turned to her and helped her put her jacket on. Cooper noticed her looking at him curiously and he returned the look. 

“Is something wrong?” Audrey asked.

He shook his head vehemently and held out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “No, not at all. I was just thinking about your future assignments. What do you think they have in store for you?”

Audrey shrugged. “Well, my superiors said I had an ability for defusing bombs and seduction so they might put me in bomb squad.”

“Seduction? When did they add those kinds of classes?”

She opened the door of the diner and walked into the cool night air. It is colder than she would have thought it would be. “Well, they don’t but the instructors noticed that I would use the boys in my class to do my work so they spoke to me and asked me how far I could push the favors. Who knows, they might even make me a professor someday.” She leaned closer to him to fix his tie, staring at him intently. 

Cooper felt the warmth shared between them and something stirred in him. Something that he hadn’t felt in a long time and that he was wary of feeling again. He cleared his throat and shifted backward with a smile. “Same old Audrey, I see. Somehow with more spunk than I remember. I really can’t believe it’s been 5 years since I saw you. You know… you left without a word.” 

They both stood there in the parking lot of the diner, feeling colder than they would have liked to and staring at the floor. As much as Cooper wished he could hug her and treat her as if time had never passed, he knew he needed an explanation as to why she left Twin Peaks without a good-bye. The thought that… -they were friends and he knew she was no longer the Audrey that he had first seen walking to him at The Great Northern. She shot him a guilty look and walked closer to him. 

“I technically left you a note but it may have gotten lost in the mail. Dale, we’ve been friends for 6 years, I’m surprised you weren’t surprised about my leaving.” She said with a regretful smile.

“You would always say goodbye and apparently, no one else but your father knew where you went.”

Audrey finally made her way to him and grabbed his hand. His shock was replaced by the unfamiliar warm feeling in his stomach that gave him the sensation of nausea. “I promise that I  _ had  _ tried to tell you. I looked for you at your house but you were on a case or something.”

Cooper smiled at her and held the hand holding his. “Thank you, Audrey. Your explanation really does make me feel better. You know what I need?” he asked as she smiled and perked her ears up. 

“What?”

“A damn fine nightcap. Would you care to join me?” He asked.

Audrey looked down at the ground and shuffled her feet. “You don’t think I’m too young?” she asked; her young naivete and nervousness around him rising again. 

Cooper laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving her the warmth she desperately needed. She smiled up at him as they walked over to the car. “Audrey, you are 24 years old, which is above the legal drinking limit and we have been friends for a little over 6 years so personally I don’t think it’s inappropriate. Now, where shall we go?”

“I had planned on staying a bit here before heading to Washington for my assignment so I rented a hotel room near the base. Do you want to head there?” she asked.

“That sounds perfect.”

**Twin Peaks ^v^ skaeP niwT**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you all liked it! Please let me know if I spelled anything wrong, I hate it when I do that!


	3. Dale

**Twin Peaks ^v^ skaeP niwT**

Agent Cooper opened the hotel room door for Audrey as she stepped in and slid off her jacket. She was pleasantly surprised at the state of the room; it seems her instructors pointed her in the right direction. She heard the door click softly behind her and Cooper, well Dale, sit on the sofa that was against the wall separating the kitchenette from the bedroom. As she looked in the fridge, Cooper looked around for anything out of the ordinary. While this didn’t look like the Great Northern, it certainly appealed to the masses with it’s slim and chic look that reminded him of Audrey. He wondered what it will be like when she comes home. Will she even come home or get swept up in her work like he had long ago and have a life elsewhere? A life in which she will never call or write but always meaning to. Cooper knows that she is meant for something larger than Twin Peaks but he can’t help the deep want in his heart for her to stay. If not in Twin Peaks, at least somewhere close, so he can see her smile at least once a day. 

“Okay, let’s see. Dale, we have wine, vodka, whiskey, scotch, rum, and bourbon. What’s your poison?” Audrey asked, snapping Cooper from his thoughts. 

“Oh, um, a rum with some coke if you have any.” he replied. 

“Coming your way, special agent.” 

There was something about the way she said special agent that made him feel like a man inside. Of course he knew that physically he was a man but there was a sort of presence that Audrey carried with her that made him feel like he could be brave and protect her if need be. He isn’t new to the feeling of hopelessness and self-hatred that was brought on by many years of hidden guilt. There was no way out, no way for someone other than himself to understand the trauma of what had happened that night. His partner tried to understand and he went insane so it’s better if he kept his feelings hidden, close to his chest and tight enough to not let anyone near. He felt Audrey sit next to him and he gladly took the drink. 

“Dale, are you alright? You look very serious.” she asked. It was her way of getting him to open up and for some reason, he always seemed to let her in.

“Yes, I’m fine. I was just thinking about something a long time ago.” Cooper replied with a smile. 

She smiled back and took a sip of her wine, the color of it as dark as her lipstick. “Do you remember when you were packing up to leave the Great Northern after Laura’s case was finished and I told you that someday I will be a grown woman and be by myself and surprise you?”

He chuckled. “Of course. I think I replied with something like ‘you bet.’ Man, I was stupid back then.”

Audrey leaned in closer, laying her hand on his shoulder. “Why stupid? The more I learned about the codes of the FBI, the more I understand why you acted the way you did.” She looks up at him, her blue eyes meeting his green eyes. “I’m sorry. I should have never made you as uncomfortable as I did.”

Clicking their glasses together and taking a sip of his drink, Cooper replied. “Audrey, you had only once made me uncomfortable in your presence and that was when you were naked in my room.”

Cooper hears her laugh as she covers her face with her hand. “Oh my, I still can’t believe I did that. I haven’t thought about it in so long. Boy, was I must have seemed like an inexperienced girl to you.” 

“Well, not really.” he replies as she looks at him with shock. “I was uncomfortable because I knew that it was wrong to...see you the way I did. I knew it wasn’t right even though you were of age and so much more mature than any young woman I had known. I knew you needed a friend, someone to be there for you, but I couldn’t help what came to my mind when I looked at you. But, I also knew I couldn’t protect you if you needed me to. One-eyed Jacks was an example of that. You were calling out for me but I hadn’t even found the note you sent. I was lost and injured. It was hard to think of the evidence presented to me when all I could think of was your smile when I made a joke or talked about pie.”

Audrey looked at him, apparently just as shocked as he was. Did he just say that to her? Dale Cooper, admitting that he was just a regular man and not the perfect figure she had made him out to be? He was sure what was happening is a dream but only in his deepest fantasies had he expressed how he felt to her before. 

“Audrey, I think you may have the most successful interrogation tactic that I have ever encountered.” He laughed, hoping to relieve some of the tension between him and Audrey. 

But she didn’t let the moment die. She gently clutched his jaw with her hand, turning his head slightly so their eyes met. “Dale, not for one second did I lose faith in you. One-Eyed Jacks was not your fault but I understand how you feel after everything happened with...her. I wasn’t there but I know that was not your fault either. You inspire me, and as much as I wouldn’t be here without you I also can’t live without you.”

Cooper breathed out heavily. She what? Audrey looked away shyly, and scooted away from him so that there was distance between them. 

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t supposed to say that last part.” she breathed. 

He was rocked to his very core. Audrey, who is the only person who knows what had happened to his late love just told him it wasn’t his fault. For some reason, he felt like that is what he needed to hear that after all this time. That he didn’t kill her by his negligence. That someone else knows about his past and still can’t live without him. He cleared his throat and made an effort to stand only to fall back onto the sofa. 

He looked at her. “Audrey...is there any way you can say it again?”

She looked over at him from the rim of her glass. “What? That it’s not your fault?”

Moving closer to her, he replied. “No, my name. Can you please say my name again?”

She chuckled a bit and moved closer to him as well, her leg casually rubbing against his. “Dale?”

“Yes.” he breathed out. “I lied before, my late love used to call me Dale so I prefer Coop or Cooper but when you say it it doesn’t sound bad at all.”

Audrey continued stroking her leg against his, this time setting her glass down to gently caress his face. She wanted to be sober for this moment, the tiny glimpses of Dale she never got to see now in full picture. “Dale...Dale...Dale…”

Cooper closed his eyes and he brushed his hand against her cheek, her gasp audible to his ears. “Audrey...I might do something I regret.”

“I say one should never live with regrets, Dale. But if you’re going to kiss me, you better do it now. I suppose it’s better late than never.”

His eyes opened in shock but he noticed that Audrey had a clear sobriety to her which indicated that she knew what exactly she was doing. Should he kiss her? The relationship he had built with her over time would be… not exactly ruined, but shifted. This situation might turn into something more dangerous and adult than he had planned. If he had known that Audrey would behave in this manner he would have found out where she had gone much sooner. 

Holding her face in his hands, he slowly approached Audrey. His breath was hitched and his neck was tense but blues met greens and nothing else mattered in that moment. Maybe this was where their paths collided after all. Fate and time working on different systems to bring two unlikely friends together in the most fashionable way they knew how. Cooper’s lips brushed against her and everything was forgotten for a moment. He forgot how to speak, how to think, how to move. His entire body was taken over by instinct as she deepened the kiss and brushed his teeth with her tongue. This must be what it is like to be loved after so long. He had spent so long alone he worried that he wouldn’t be good enough for someone like Audrey but he is glad she proved him wrong. He pushed further onto her, grabbing her hair and gently pulling. She gasped and Cooper had forgotten how to breathe. Pulling away for air, they both smiled at each other and laughed. 

“That was...something.” Audrey laughed. “What did you think? Was it okay for you? I hope I didn't do anything you didn’t want to, obviously.” She asked nervously. 

Cooper just smiled at her as he pulled her head down onto his chest. “Audrey, thank you. That was one damn kiss. I got lightheaded for a moment there.” 

Feeling her giggle verberate against his chest is something he never knew would be so pleasurable. Kind of like solving a complicated case or tasting some delicious black coffee. 

“You’re welcome.” He heard her respond. “Of course, you are always welcome to repeat the experience anytime you want.”

“How about now?” He chuckled.

“Especially now” Audrey replied. 

**Twin Peaks ^v^ skaeP niwT**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea where this story is going, whoops. I'll try my best to continue tho.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all liked it and if so leave a comment, kudos, or bookmark if you wish!


End file.
